Pandora Hearts
Pandora Hearts (パンドラハーツ''Pandora Hātsu'' ?) is a manga series by Jun Mochizuki. Originally starting serialization in the shōnen magazine GFantasy published by Square Enix in June 2006. Currently, twenty-three volumes have been released in Japan. The manga series was licensed for an English language release by Broccoli Books but has been dropped; it has been licensed by Yen Press since then. It has also been made into an anime version, produced by Xebec. On February 11, 2010, NIS America announced that it would release the anime of Pandora Hearts in North America. This series also had 9 OVA's (3 minute per episode), which aired from July 24, 2009 to March 25, 2010. Plot Oz Vessalius, one of the Heirs of the Four Dukedoms, has just turned fifteen. His life is rich and carefree, darkened only by the constant absence of his father. At his coming-of-age ceremony, however, everything changes. For no reason that he can discern, he is cast into the prison known as the "Abyss", only to be saved by a "chain" known as Alice, the Bloodstained Black Rabbit or B-Rabbit for short. The mystery begins there as Oz unravels the mystery behind Alice, the Abyss and the strange organization known as Pandora. The series features heavy references to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and can be considered both fantasy and mystery. Terminology Chain (チェイン Chein) Beings born from the Abyss that were at one point human, transformed by the Abyss. They must sign a contract with a human in order to leave the Abyss. Chains involved in illegal contracts must repeatedly consume humans in order to sustain themselves. The chain is bound to the contractor and can be called out at will. In return, the contractor provides passage for the chain out of the Abyss. Occasionally, a rare side-effect of making a contract with a chain gives the contractor the ability to never physically age again, although their mind and body still deteriorate in certain ways, and they can still die of natural causes such as old age. In illegal contracts, a clock-like seal appears somewhere on the Contractor's body, over their heart. Each time the chain's powers are drawn upon, the hand on the seal moves like on a clock. Once the hand makes one full rotation, both the contractor and the chain are dragged into the deepest level of the Abyss. Contractor (契約者 Keiyakusha) A human who makes a contract with chains. There are certain procedures to making a contract, but impromptu contracts can also be made, although they are "illegal". Abyss (アヴィス Avisu) The dimension from which chains come. It exists separately from the regular world, and there, time flows differently. A person can find themselves in any random time period upon exiting the Abyss. The appearance of the Abyss is somewhat like that of a broken toy box. Intention of the Abyss (アヴィスの意志 Avisu no Ishi) The existence that governs the Abyss. She can appear in the form of a white rabbit doll covered in blood with big round eyes. The true form of the Intention resembles Alice, but she has white hair, lavender-colored eyes, and wears a white dress. The Intention of the Abyss and Alice are twin sisters; both conceived in the regular world, and born in the Abyss as well sharing the name Alice. Four Great Dukedoms (四大公爵家 Yondai Koushaku Ke) It is made up of the Vessalius, Rainsworth, Nightray and Barma families. These four houses have been in existence well before the Tragedy of Sablier, but they only rose to prominence after the Tragedy, filling the vacuum left by the defeated Baskerville family. Together they founded the organisation Pandora to help deal with issues regarding the Abyss, effectively forming the country's government. Each family owns a single Door to the Abyss, the sources of their great power. Of the four houses, the Vessalius and Nightray houses are thought to be exact opposites, like light and dark: the Vessalius house works publicly, while the Nightray house is responsible for doing the backstage work. Before the Tragedy of Sablier occurred, the Vessalius family was only a third class noble family but after the Tragedy of Sablier, due to actions of Jack Vesullius , they were seen as heroes later invited to become one of the Great Dukedoms. Pandora (パンドラ Pandora) An organization founded by the four duke houses. It specializes in research regarding the Abyss and has its own military to suit its purposes. Tragedy of Sablier (サブリエの悲劇 Saburie no Higeki) The city of Sablier was once the capital city of the Pandora Hearts universe. However, 100 years ago, in an event know only as the Tragedy of Sablier, much of the city, along with many of its citizens were swallowed by the Abyss. It was supposedly caused by the Baskerville family. Doors to the Abyss The Doors are large pathways leading to and from the Abyss. Four of the Doors remain under Pandora's control with each of the Four Dukedoms possessing one key to each. The Baskervilles control the final and fifth Door, in the remains of the former capital, Sablier. Carcere An item used to make a legal contract. Instead of the contractor drinking the blood of the chain, the blood gets absorbed into the mirror where a seal is formed, keeping the seal off of the person. If the mirror is broken, t he contractor can lose the contract to the chain. It also has a limit on the power one can use. Baskervilles Humans chosen by the Core of the Abyss to maintain and protect the well-being of the Abyss. The Baskervilles are almost completely immortal and they all have the natural ability to heal wounds at an incredible speed. They seem to be more chain-like than human as shown by the detrimental effects that the Chain-destroyer Mad Hatter can inflict on them. They are led by a Glen, whose command they cannot refuse under any circumstance. None of the Baskervilles are actually related to each other.The true purpose is for Jurors to merely use them for their story to see how far they would ruin the Abyss. Children of Ill Omen Children who are in some way related to the Glens. The Children of Ill Omen are deeply connected to the Abyss and have red eyes which makes it easy to separate them from the crowd. Before the Tragedy of Sablier, they were thought to attract bad luck and so they were often left out or treated harshly by their peers, however this view seemed to have lessened somewhat after the Tragedy. They're however still seen as a serious threat by the Baskervilles, because of their powers, who therefore sacrifice them to the Abyss in order to prevent them harming the world though this was just a lie by the Jurors as they were the only ones able to bypass their control and ruin their "stories" because they were created by the core. Three known Children of Ill omen have appeared thus far in the series,Vincent, Break and Lacie. Jurors Jurors are beings that transcends humanty and had been created by the core to record events. They use the Baskervilles as a way to write their story and fear the Childen of Omen as they would bypass their control and ruin their stories. Media Manga : Main Article : List of Pandora Hearts Chapters Pandora Hearts is written and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki and serialized in Square Enix monthly shōnen magazine GFantasy since June 2006. There are currently twenty-two Tankōbon collecting serial chapters released. The series was first licensed in English by Broccoli Books but has been dropped. It has been picked up by Yen Press and serialized in Yen Plus since June 2009 issue. Yen Press released the first English volume on December 15, 2009 with the second scheduled for May 18, 2010. Currently 15 volumes have been released in English.[5] In Indonesia, the series has been licensed by Elex Media Komputindo, and in France by Ki-oon. Anime : Main Article : List of Pandora Hearts Episodes With director Takao Kato, studio XEBEC produced the animation with music featured by Yuki Kajiura and themes by Savage Genius and FictionJunction. The series premiered on April 3, 2009 and ran until September 25, 2009 and consists of 25 episodes. The series broadcast on TBS, BS-TBS, CBC and MBS for its initial run.[12] On February 11, 2010, NIS America announced the licensing of the series in North America, and released English-subtitled DVDs of the anime on October 26, 2010. *It also has nine, 3 minute OVAs, which aired from July 24, 2009 to March 25, 2010. : See: Pandora Hearts Special Episode Other Books Guide Books *The 1st Pandora Hearts official guide book, Pandora Hearts 8.5: Mine of Mine, was released on March 27, 2009. Oz Vessalius, holding a B-Rabbit plushie, along with Gilbert Nightray are featured on the front cover. *The 2nd official guide book, Pandora Hearts 18.5: Evidence, was released on July 27th, 2012. This time Oz and Alice are featured on the front cover. *The Official Animation Guide for the anime adaption of Pandora Hearts was released on September 26, 2009 Art Books *The artbook, Odds and Ends (artbook), containing illustrations from Jun Mochizuki, was released on September 26, 2009 Novels *The 1st Pandora Hearts novel, Pandora Hearts ~Caucus Race~ Volume 1, was released on March 26, 2011. It consists of four stories written by Shinobu Wakamiya and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki. It features Oz and Gilbert on its front cover. *The 2nd novel, Pandora Hearts ~Caucus Race~ Volume 2, was released on March 27, 2012. This time it consists of six stories alongside illustrations by Jun Mochizuki. Elliot and Leo are featured on its front cover. *The 3rd novel, Pandora Hearts ~Caucus Race~ Volume 3, was released on May 27, 2013. It contains four stories and several colored and non-colored illustrations by Jun Mochizuki. Oswald and Jack Vessalius are featured on the front cover. Audio Soundtracks The first anime opening theme was released as a maxi-single, "Parallel Hearts", on April 29, 2009 under Victor Entertainment label. The opening theme single performed by FictionJunction included "Parallel Hearts" and "Hitomi No Chikara" in both vocal and instrumental versions, with lyrics, compositions and arrangements made by Yuki Kajiura, and peak ranked 20th on Oricon singles charts. The first ending theme "Maze" was released on June 3, 2009 under Victor Entertainment label, and peak ranked 35th in Oricon singles chart. The second ending theme is Watashi wo Mitsukete by Savage Genius. The first anime album Pandora Hearts Original Soundtracks 1 was released July 8, 2009 under Victor Entertainment label and peak ranked 104th on Oricon albums chart. Drama CD A drama CD entitled Pandora Hearts Drama CD was released on December 21, 2007 under Frontier Works label. Reception Volume 8 of Pandora Hearts was ranked 21st on the Tohan charts between March 24 and 30, 2009, 19th between March 31 and April 6, 2009, and 1st between July 27 and August 2. Trivia *Some of the characters in Crimson-Shell have been used in Pandora Hearts or have a similar resemblance physically or personality-wise. However Robin and Melissa made a cameo in Retrace X. **Les = Echo (personality and some physical characteristics) **Claudia = Alice & Lacie (physically and Personality) **Ruskin = Oscar Vessalius (both personality and physically) **Shion = Oz the B-Rabbit, Jack Vessalius & Xerxes Break (both personality and physically) **Wilhelm = Vincent Nightray, Levi & Xerxes (both personality and physically) **Baines = Reim Lunettes (both personality and physically) **Xeno = Gilbert Nightray (both personality and physically) **Robin = Oz the B-Rabbit (both personality and physically, albeit older and with darker hair) **Melissa = Ada Vessalius & Sharon Rainsworth (both personality and physically) ** Victoria- Lottie (Both Personality and physically) Navigation Category:Media Category:Manga